Najib courts teachers ahead of expected polls....

The Barisan Nasional (BN) administration announced a pay rise for 7,000 senior educators and raised the pay ceiling for all teachers as it prepares to call a general election that is expected within the year. The package for teachers, who make up a third of Malaysia’s 1.2 million civil servants, follows Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin admission this morning that subsidies will continue to be cut.

“The career path for teachers will be expanded to reach Grade 54,” Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in a pre-recorded video message for the national-level Teachers’ Day celebrations in Kuching today.

He also said that from the beginning of next year, all 1,228 secondary school principals in the country will be upgraded to Grade 52 which has a maximum monthly pay of RM6,904.20 and all 6,585 senior assistants nationwide will be moved up to Grade 48 (RM6,325.39). The new ceiling grade will allow teachers to retire after 25 or more years of service at the new grade, instead of the previous Grade 48.

Analysts and politicians believe that economic woes will be the biggest problem facing BN for the 13th General Election. A check on salaries and prices in selected developed country cities by The Malaysian Insider showed that despite being touted as one of the world’s least expensive cities, KL residents pay as much or even more for chicken, broadband, cars and mobile phones as a percentage of their income.

Civil servants are a traditional vote bank for BN and last year the government paid bonuses of RM500 each to all civil servants and another 590,000 pensioners at a cost of RM296 million.

But this fell short of the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services’s (Cuepacs) demand for a two-month bonus. It has continued to call for a minimum wage of RM900 for civil servants rather than the current RM647 and salary adjustments across the board.

Pakatan Rakyat has also attempted to court teachers by promising a RM500 monthly allowance if it takes power after the next election.

Meanwhile, Najib announced five promotion methods for the teaching profession which will take effect next year. They are promotions to fill vacancies, special promotion to a holder of a post (Khas Untuk Penyandang), time-based promotion, promotion for excellent principals or headmasters and promotion for excellent teachers.

source:malaysian insider

PM umum guru nikmati lima kaedah naik pangkat

Mula2 aku ucapkan "SELAMAT HARI GURU" kepada cikgu2 semua. Janganlah termakan gula2 yang ditawarkan oleh Mahyuddin ini, kerana perkara menaikkan gred jawatan Pengetua bukanlah sesuatu yang baru,benda ni dah lama dah.

Perkara yang menghalangnya adalah jumlah jawatan gred 52 yang diberikan kepada KPM adalah dihadkan oleh pihak JPA,begitu juga dengan gred DG 54 dan jawatan Jusa.

Mungkin dengan kelonggaran yang baru ini, maka semua Pengetua sekolah menengah ditawarkan gred DG 52. Pasal pengumuman tentang cara2 kenaikkan pangkat dalam profession perguruan oleh Najib pula, hal ini bukanlah sesuatu yang baru. Sebaliknya itulah kaedah yang sedang dilaksanakan sekarang! Nothing to be excited about.

Bagi cikgu2 semua pikiaq2 mai yang mana lebih molek, sebilangan kecil yang mendapat faedah tambahan gaji kerana jawatan diupgrade atau semua kaum guru mendapat elaun tambahan RM500 sebulan....

cheers.